Re: fretless looping guitars

[steve <studio_t@bellsouth.net>]

fretless guitar is cool although I suspect it will grab some and not
others,
when I play bass I use a fretless and so many years ago I figured
fretless
guitar would be cool and made one, oddly enough as much as I think
fretless is
IT for the majority of bass work, fretless guitar *for me* turned out to
be a
specialty thing and I rarely use, I've had it for about 15 years but
really
haven't picked it up in quite awhile, maybe I'll pull it out and give it

another chance.

filling the frets w/ a paste is not recommended, it will not provide
good continuity to the neck which will not be the best for tone or neck
life and filling w/ wood strips is easier and looks cooler

anyway, if you have an instrument you want to defret;
(please don't try this unless your somewhat confident you are capable or
don't
mind destroying a neck) - email me off list if you want a deeper
explanation

slack the truss rod
pull the frets carefully(if you chip up the fretboard your work will
suffer)
     preheat the frets(solder irnon will do) use a fret pulling tool
from
stewmac or face  ground endnippers, start at one side and slowly work
across

clean fretslots(if you don't have pro tools an exacto knife and nail
file will
suffice)

get some wood veneer that pretty closely matches the fret gap

cut lengths of it to match neck width and with an exacto knife shape the

bittom to your fingerboard radius

put glue in the slot(wood glue)

push the wood pieces in(should be a reasonably tight fit)

use 2 strips of wood glued to a backing as clamping cauls to hold the
fret
ends in place while the glue dries, very little pressure is needed,
never put
a clamp directly on the back of your neck always use a pad or something,
you
can work in sections or if you do good prep and work quick you can do it
all
at once

after it dries it will be a bit of a mess, not to fear

sand the neck down, good bracing of the neck from below is imortant, it
must
be evenly supported, you can get a neck sanding tool from stew mac or
you can
make one by getting a good condition level and glueing sandpaper(contact

cement) to it, you'll want to start w/ 80-100 to get the high spts down
and
quickly go to lighter grits

finish the fingerboard w/ a good oil or if your game poly

recut the nut lower

if you are uptight about this any gtr tech who has converted a bass
before can
do this easily and it should be about the same cost as a fretjob

peace  steve